Visitech is gearing up to meet growing North American demand for digital light processing (DLP) projectors in additive manufacturing applications. Shown here is Visitech’s new scrolling projector, the LRS-MCx 4K. (Image courtesy Visitech)
The Norwegian company is planning to produce projectors and subsystems at the facility, beginning in 2024.
ALLEN, Texas—Norway-based Visitech AS announced plans earlier this year to build a factory in the Dallas metropolitan area that will produce projectors and subsystems for state-of-the-art 3D printing and direct imaging applications. The factory is scheduled to begin production in 2024, according to a release from Visitech.
Additive manufacturing applications for digital light processing (DLP) projectors are increasingly in demand. The growing demand has created need for “additional manufacturing capacity, with an optimized supply chain, for customers in North America,” Visitech said in the release.
Headquartered in Drammen, Norway, Visitech provides high-end UV exposure subsystems that are said to enable state-of-the-art imaging products for additive manufacturing, bio-printing, and direct-imaging maskless lithography. Machine builders that incorporate Visitech’s subsystems into next-generation 3D printers are reported to achieve high-volume yield and excellent precision.
The company recently acquired Dallas DLP design house Keynote Photonics and announced the formation of Visitech Americas. The new subsidiary for sales, marketing, engineering, and product services will support the rapidly growing additive manufacturing market in the United States and Americas, according to the release.
Visitech said its investment in a U.S. factory will secure a reliable supply of critical equipment to the company’s U.S. customers and strengthen product support capabilities within an expanding market.
“We have invested heavily in R&D and manufacturing capacity to develop the additive manufacturing market with our groundbreaking technology,” said Oyvind Tafjord, managing director at Visitech headquarters, in the release. “This new facility demonstrates our commitment to our customers worldwide in support of their growth plans and full product lifecycle. Our speed and industrial durability are the result of working closely with our customers and leveraging Visitech’s electronics, mechanics, optics, and software expertise.”
Visitech said it has nearly 15,000 systems installed in machines worldwide in a range of applications, including direct UV imaging for PCB lithography and advanced semiconductor packaging, 3D metrology, and high-performance display subsystems. A typical machine includes 4 to 8 projectors working 24/7 in inline production lines. The Visitech subsystem exposes a photosensitive material while scanning and scrolling over large panels in less than 10 seconds, the company said.
These capabilities complement Visitech’s prowess in additive manufacturing applications, supporting the company’s ability to develop new technology for the consumer market, life science applications, and industrial manufacturing, according to the release.
“We see tremendous potential in a range of 3D printing applications and have participated in the explosive growth in this transformation,” said Adam Kunzman, CEO of Visitech Americas, in the release. “The recent introduction of our next-generation scrolling projector, the LRS-MCx 4K, which doubles our customers’ machine capacity, is fueling this growth.”